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Thursday, February 22, 2018

The High Cost of Surviving Rabies

A brown bat the size of a mouse with teeth like a stapler may or may not have bitten Tamara Davis in Georgia. But it certainly took a bite out of her bank account, generating hospital bills of more than $17,000.

The groundhog that charged Linda Gallagher in Maryland while she was gardening last summer caused her to rack up more than $11,000 in charges.

A fox that sank its teeth into Crystal Edwards in North Carolina last year could end up costing her more than $22,000.

Doctors agreed that all three women needed a series of shots to protect them from the deadliest virus known to medicine -- rabies. Once symptoms begin, the disease is almost always fatal.

The treatment regimen for rabies was first developed in the late 1800s, and it hasn’t changed much over the last 100 years.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was bitten hard by a bat that flew into me.I never went anywhere for treatment.That was in 1975.

Anonymous said...

Really so sick of this crap. This, Epi Pens and Insulin.

Anonymous said...

9:40 I think maybe a lot of us had brushes with wild animals back then and rabies didn't enter our minds. Rabies wasn't as common then and the thinking is because many let their pets run free and they killed off so many wild animals so it couldn't spread like it dose today.
Reminds me of the rat problem in Northern VA. They are everywhere and some believe it is because everyone keeps their cats indoors nowadays.

Anonymous said...

why was rabies protection NOT covered by insurance? What the hell good is it?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, about the same cost as a high end funeral. Take your pick.

Anonymous said...

why was rabies protection NOT covered by insurance? What the hell good is it?

February 23, 2018 at 7:51 AM:

Click on that "more" button and read the whole article. Insurance does cover most of it, if you have insurance.